Committee approves higher fees for certified drinking‑water labs; department cites 14 years without increase

The House Health and Welfare rules committee approved docket 160213‑2401, a proposed update to Idaho Drinking Water Lab Certification Program rules that changes fee schedules and consolidates regulatory text by incorporation by reference.

Jared Larson, legislative and regulatory affairs chief, said the chapter was “heavily reduced” by incorporating EPA guidance (the Idaho manual) by reference rather than restating the manual in rule text. Larson said the fee schedule dates to 2011 and had not been increased in 14 years. The docket increases the annual base certification fee for in‑state chemistry testing from $50 to $100 per chemistry discipline, establishes a flat annual microbiology fee of $150 (replacing a base fee plus per‑analyte structure), and raises the annual base certification fee for out‑of‑state chemistry laboratories from $50 to $200.

Larson told lawmakers the department did not receive public comment during the expanded comment period; the department estimated the aggregate increase in receipts at about $8,300 annually.

The department presented the change as administrative modernization (reducing duplicated text) and an incremental fee update to cover program costs. The committee adopted the docket by voice vote with no recorded opposition.

The department offered to provide further technical details about differences between manual editions upon request.

Speakers included Jared Larson and a subject‑matter expert, Dr. Ball, bureau chief over laboratories, who was present to answer technical questions.

No roll‑call tally was recorded in committee minutes; the action was recorded as adopted by voice vote.